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2005/07/09

Bush Co. Treads Water on Jobs

Witless conservatives all over the blogsphere are trumpeting the most recent job creation numbers. For example Vilmar over at Right Wing Howler had this to say:

For those really stupid democrats and other liberal posters hiding behind anonymity when they comment, explain to me how things are bad in the economy when our unemployment rate is down to 5%?

Well, before we go out to celebrate the wonderful economy, take a look at this nifty little chart from the National Review. (The National Review, for god's sake!) Setting aside the Review's pathetic attempt to spin this as some kind of vindication for Bush, take a look at the connections between presidents. Clinton inherits 6+ percent unemployment from G.H.W. Bush (it was actually way over 7% when Clinton took office) and drives it down to below 5% in his second term. Pretty astounding, huh?!

Bush Co. in contrast, gets Clinton's rate and manages to skewer it with a million lost jobs. Only now have jobs recovered with 6 months of solid growth. Of course a big chunk of the last two months is seasonal employment in construction.

3 Comments:

"Of course a big chunk of the last two months is seasonal employment in construction"

And of course, a big chunk of the losses were directly attributable to 9/11 and the corporate scandals shortly thereafter. But you guys want to conveniently forget that, or try to somehow blame Bush for the attacks.

It's a fallacy of the Left to praise Clinton for all his wonderful things, when in reality, Republicans controlled the Congress from 1994 on... shortly after the disasterous Clinton tax hike. It's also funny that the Left fails to acknowledge that all the corporate scandals that the "big-business-friendly" Bush administration has been uncovering and prosecuting were flourishing during the Clinton years.

Jason, you do remember, don't you, who crafts the budgets that go to Congress?

So... Clinton raises taxes, submits balanced budgets that House Democrats (later Republicans) have the foresight to pass, and unemployment drops from 7.9% to just about 4% by the end of his adminstration. Gee, you're right, no credit for Clinton there.

It's just numbers. Wail about it all you want, but unfortunately for you, they don't lie. And just for fun, let's add that the greatest job growth in history in terms of sheer numbers was achieved by...drum roll please...Carter's administration!

It's also funny that the Left fails to acknowledge that all the corporate scandals that the "big-business-friendly" Bush administration has been uncovering and prosecuting were flourishing during the Clinton years.

Elliott Spitzer works for the Bush Administration?! Really? Or are you just talking out of your ass? Point of fact, Bush Co.'s record on prosecution of corporate misconduct is pretty dismal, and where executive discretion has been applied, it has without fail come down on the side of big business.

Take FERCs interference with California's energy contracts in 2003. Enron and their energy trading partners illegally game the energy trading system to the tune of 4 billion dollars. California tries to void the high cost contracts that they had to sign, and FERC (packed with Bush administration apointees) steps in to fuck California and protect the energy traders. Then, when California tries to sue to recover only a small portion of of the losses, FERC again interferes by witholding the key evidence, the tapes.

Yeah, great job Bush Co. is doing. Looks to me like they're abetting fraud as often as they're prosecuting it.